A vending machine is a machine that provides various snacks, beverages and other products to consumers by vending products without a cashier. Items sold via vending machines can vary by country and region. Vending machines typically utilize a push button interface that is capable of accepting money in paper or coin form. A consumer may insert coins into a coin acceptor or currency into a bill validator, or a combination of the two. Thereafter, the consumer typically makes a product selection by entering a product identifying code into a keypad on the face of the vending machine. If the amount of money recognized by the machine equals or exceeds the amount of money required to purchase the selected product, the machine proceeds to vend the product to the consumer. However, if the consumer has not entered enough money, or the machine not recognized the entry of enough money, no product will be vended to the consumer.
In some cases, coin acceptors jam up, especially if a bill or other foreign object is inserted into the coin slot. If the coin box is not cleared often enough, coins can fill up past the coin detector, preventing further purchases. Bill validators are also a source of frustration for many customers, especially when they falsely reject a bill that happens to be crumpled, ripped, or dirty.
The consumer may become frustrated or realize that he does not have enough money to make a purchase and choose to recover the money that the consumer previously has entered. The consumer may depress a “coin return” mechanism on the vending machine in an attempt to recover the money already entered. Further, the consumer may be required to depress the “coin return” mechanism repeatedly in order to properly engage the lever arms required to release the entered coins.
Additionally, vending machines require routine maintenance due to wear and as the result of vandalism. Often times, this maintenance is difficult due to the space limitations of the room where the vending machine is located.